Auburn TE Philip Lutzenkirchen

Updating a previous report, the Falcons will hold their pro day for local prospects tomorrow, Wednesday, April 10. D. Orlando Ledbetter of the AJC mentions several prospects that are confirmed to be working out for the team. Among them are defensive tackle T.J. Barnes (Georgia Tech), cornerbacks A.J. Bouye (Central Florida) and Branden Smith (Georgia), running backs David Carter (Morehouse) and Kenny Miles (South Carolina), offensive linemen Edmund Kugbila (Valdosta State) and Jamaal Johnson-Webb (Alabama A&M), and tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen (Auburn).

Most of the confirmed prospects and any others aren’t likely to be high picks. Among the confirmed players, Barnes figures to be the most likely to be taken in the draft. CBS Sports projects him as a fifth round pick and he is their 15th-ranked defensive tackle. The massive nose tackle (6-6, 369) did not start until his final season at Georgia Tech, where he posted career highs with 28 tackles, 5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 3 passes broken up.

Smith might also be in the mix for a late round pick, as he is the 37th ranked cornerback on CBS Sports. He impressed at Georgia’s pro day, clocking a 4.38 40 time. He started 25 games over the past three seasons, tallying 4 interceptions and 17 pass breakups in that span. He was arrested for possession of marijuana last spring. He was invited to the East-West Shrine game this past January, where he managed an interception, but also was beat for a touchdown.

Bouye is coming off his best season at Central Florida, recording 53 tackles, 3 interceptions and 11 pass breakups. He has a nice combination of size (6-0/186) and athleticism, clocking a 4.55-second 40 time and having 36.5-inch vertical jump at his pro day. He is the 66th ranked cornerback prospect by CBS Sports.

Carter likely will move to fullback given his size (5-9/229) and his slower speed (5.03 second 40 time). He earned conference player of the year as a junior after rushing for 1,495 yards and 19 touchdowns. A hamstring injury limited him as a senior, and his production fell to 841 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Miles led the Gamecocks in rushing as a redshirt freshman with 626 yards and a touchdown. He would serve as the backup the past three years behind Marcus Lattimore, but log 8 starts due to injury. As a senior with six of those starts, he finished the year with 104 carries for 359 yards (3.5 avg) and 2 touchdowns. He also caught 52 career passes. A smaller back at 5-8, 192 pounds, he clocked a 4.50 second 40 time at his pro day. He is the 40th ranked RB prospect at CBS Sports.

Kugbila was invited to February’s Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where the 6-4, 317-pound guard ran a 5.31 second 40 time, bench pressed 225 pounds 23 times, and had a 22.5-inch vertical jump. He would improve on those numbers (5.13/24/26.5) at his pro day. He’s started the past two seasons at guard after beginning his career at tackle. The Ghanan native is the 26th ranked guard by CBS Sports.

Johnson-Webb was another Combine invitee where he measured in at 6-5, 313 pounds with nearly 36-inch arms. He began his career as a guard before moving to left tackle. At the Combine, he ran a 5.37 second 40 time, did 17 bench reps, and had a 23-inch vertical jump. He is graded as a guard by CBS Sports, where he is ranked 22nd on their list.

Lutzenkirchen entered the season fairly highly regarded as he was CBS Sports’ 8th ranked TE in their preseason rankings. But a hip injury sidelined him in October. In six games, he caught 15 passes for 139 yards (9.3 avg) and no touchdowns. That after two seasons where he was a valuable asset in the redzone, combining for 12 touchdowns on only 39 catches. His 14 career touchdown passes is currently the school record for tight ends. He was able to participate at the Combine, running a 4.94 40 time with 21 bench reps, 30.5-inch vertical. He doubled at times as a lead blocker and fullback showing his versatility. He is currently ranked 24th by CBS Sports among tight ends.

Disliking this man might make you a racist

They say you can’t judge a draft until after three years. I would generally agree with that statement. It’s unfair to judge a draft until at least three seasons have gone by. But I really think you have to wait five years before it’s really an accurate judgment.

By that point, most if not all of a team’s original picks have finished their rookie contracts and hit free agency. And you can really determine the strength of a draft based on how many players lasted long enough to hit free agency, and how many of them managed to earn second contracts.

For grading drafts, I have come up with a fairly simple grading system that after five seasons assigns a grade of A, B, C, D, or F to every player drafted. I’ve added examples from the 2008 class.

A – An elite or near elite player. Mike Lombardi would call these “blue chip” players. For quarterbacks, it’s modified to players that are good franchise quarterbacks. Example: Matt Ryan, Ray Rice.

B – Mike Lombardi would call these “red chip” players. They are universally considered among the better players at their position and definite impact players. They are typically among the best players on their respective teams, and would be considered so on any team. Examples: Chris Long, Jamaal Charles.

C – Solid starters. Guys that are fairly entrenched as starters and could start on a significant percentage of NFL teams. Examples: Sam Baker, Cliff Avril.

D – Backups or low-level starters. They are role players or may be starters, but are widely considered to be very underwhelming starters: Examples: Felix Jones, Early Doucet.

F – These are players that are out of the league. Examples: Kentwan Balmer, Chevis Jackson

I try not to overemphasize their most recent performances, trying to look at a player’s five-year career as a hole.

So far I’ve looked at the 2007 and 2008 draft classes, looking at where they were at the end of 2011 and 2012 seasons, respectively. After this upcoming season we should be able to judge the 2009 class. Here’s how they stack up with number of players with each grade.

It’ll be interesting to look at what the 2009 draft looks like after this season when we reach the five-year deadline. But it’s interesting that the 2007 and 2008 have very similar numbers. That simply could be a coincidence, but if we see the 2009 draft shift towards similar numbers, it would be hard to argue that is still merely a coincidence. And we could start to assume that in general drafts produce roughly the same amount of talent. What differs is not the overall talent brought into the league, but which teams do the best jobs finding that talent.

You could use this rating system to assign a Grade Point Average per team to judge how well they drafted by assigning four points for an A, three for a B, etc. For 2008, the Saints wound up with the highest GPA, averaging 1.50 points per pick. Carl Nicks was their A-level player, and Sedrick Ellis and Tracy Porter were C-level players. DeMario Pressley gave them credit for a D-level player as he was on injured reserve with the Bears this past year. Taylor Mehlhaff and Adrian Arrington were Fs. What’s interesting is that none of those players (assuming Ellis is not re-signed) are currently with the Saints.

If you’re curious to how the Falcons 2008 draft graded out, it placed 7th with a GPA of 1.18 points. Jacksonville had the worst draft with a GPA of 0.20. The only player that did not receive a F grade among the Jaguars five picks that year was Quentin Groves, who was a backup with the Cardinals last year before signing with the Browns last month. Read more…

Adam Caplan of The Sideline View reported last week that the Falcons were scheduled to visit with Clemson defensive Malliciah Goodman, while Tony Pauline of TFY Draft Insider said that his former teammate and center Dalton Freeman visited with the team this past week.

Goodman is coming off his best season at Clemson, recording 7 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. He certainly has excellent NFL measurables, standing 6-4 and 276 pounds at the Combine, with arms that measure over 36 inches and 11-inch hands. He did 26 bench reps at the Combine with a 4.87 second 40 time and 31.5-inch vertical jump. He is projected by CBS Sports to be a third round pick.

Freeman measures in at 6-5, 291 pounds and is a rising prospect that is getting late round grades. He is a four-year starter that was not invited to the Combine, but made up for it with a strong performance at Clemson’s pro day last month. He ran a 4.91 second 40 time, benched 225 pounds 34 times, and recorded a 34-inch vertical jump.

Matt Fortuna of ESPN reports Notre Dame safety Jamoris Slaughter is likely to be a candidate to work out at the Falcons local pro day this month. Aaron Wilson of Scout.com reports that fellow Golden Domer Zeke Motta had a visit with the Falcons this past week.

Slaughter a native of Stone Mountain, GA will be allowed to work out with prospects from nearby high schools and colleges at the Falcons facility. An exact date for the Falcons local pro day is not known, but in past years has been scheduled a few weeks before the draft. Slaughter missed nearly all of this past season with a torn Achilles tendon. In 2011, he had 45 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 interception, and 3 pass breakups. He is unlikely to be drafted given his injury, but could be a nice pickup as an undrafted player if his rehab continues to progress.

Motta could be looked as a late-round pick for a team. He has good size (6-2, 213) with run-stopping ability. While he did not pick off a pass this season, he did have 77 tackles which ranked second on their team behind Manti Te’o. He could potentially carve out a role on special teams in Atlanta.

Boise State’s Jamar Taylor among Falcons targets

Tony Pauline of TFY Draft Insider has been on top of the Falcons conducting workouts of several West Coast prospects this weekend. Yesterday, Pauline tweeted that the Falcons worked out a number of prospects at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, CA. Among them were UCLA defensive end Datone Jones and running back Johnathan Franklin along San Diego State tight end Gavin Escobar and cornerback Leon McFadden. Per Pauline, Jones had an impressive workout. Today, the Falcons were set to look at a group of prospects from the Bay Area including Cal center Brian Schwenke, Stanford tight ends Levine Toilolo and Zach Ertz as well as running back Stepfan Taylor. Tomorrow, the Falcons will look at cornerback Jamar Taylor (Boise State).

Jones, Ertz, and Taylor have been projected as potential targets for the Falcons top pick on April 25. Franklin, Escobar, McFadden, and Schwenke have been graded by many to be potential second day targets for the team. Toilolo is considered a late round prospect, while Stepfan Taylor is likely to be taken in the middle rounds.

Datone Jones had his most productive year as a senior, with 62 tackles, 19 for loss, and 5.5 sacks. He played predominantly end for UCLA, but also got opportunities to line up inside at defensive tackle and rush the passer. Franklin got off to a fast start this past year, rushing for over 200 yards in his first two games, making him an early Heisman candidate. He finished the season with 282 carries for 1734 yards (6.1 avg) and 13 touchdowns. He also caught 33 passes, excelling in the zone blocking scheme incorporated by new head coach Jim Mora this past year. He is noted for his speed (4.49 second 40) and quickness.

Ertz is considered alongside Notre Dame’s Tyler Eifert to be the premier tight end in this year’s class. He had his best year as a senior with 69 catches for 898 yards (13.0 avg) and 6 touchdowns, the leader for the team. His teammate Toilolo was highly-touted going into the season, but had disappointing production with inconsistent hands. He finished the year with 24 catches for 393 yards (16.4 avg) and 4 touchdowns.  But his large frame (6-8, 260 pounds) and blocking potential still means he could be a solid NFL player. Stepfan Taylor has been a workhorse for Stanford the past three seasons since taking over for Toby Gerhart. He put together his best season this past fall with career highs of 320 carries for 1530 yards (4.8 avg), coupled with 13 touchdowns. He also improved as a pass catcher with 41 catches, second on the team. Taylor isn’t blessed with great size or speed (4.76 second 40 at the Combine), but is a powerful consistent runner that can at least carve out a role as a quality backup in the pros.

Escobar didn’t have as productive a year as many hoped this year, thanks in part due to the departure of quarterback Ryan Lindley. As a sophomore, he caught 51 passes for 780 yards (15.3 avg) and 7 touchdowns, but those numbers fell to 42 catches for 543 yards (12.9 avg) and 6 touchdowns this past year. That was still good enough to lead his team for the long tight end that measured in at 6-6, 254 pounds at the Combine. McFadden is a ballhawk that collected 8 interceptions and 47 pass breakups over his career. He was compared favorably to Brent Grimes by NFL.com’s draft profile.

Jamar Taylor impressed at the Combine when he clocked a 4.39 40 time coupled with 22 bench reps, indicating both speed and strength for the 5-11, 192-pound corner. He had his most productive year this past seasons with 51 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 4 interceptions, and 13 pass breakups.

NFL.com’s Mike Mayock lists Schwenke as his top-rated center in this year’s class, as the three-year starter is coming off his first season at the position. The two previous years, the 6-3, 314-pound player played both guard spots giving him added versatility. He lifted 225 pounds 31 times at the Combine and clocked a 4.99 second 40 time, indicating he possesses good strength and athleticism.

Luke Joeckel is the top pick?

This is the second official mock I’ve posted this off-season, you can click here to see the first from a month ago. I ran through a first round mock on twitter a week ago and this one won’t be that dissimilar. The biggest and most noteworthy change is that I do not have a single quarterback being taken in the first round of this new three-round mock.

That is significant in my eyes because it would be the first time since 1996 that has happened. So odds are, in that sense this mock will be wrong since it’s only happened once in the past seventeen drafts. But what is interesting that when we entered this off-season, there were a number of teams picking in the Top Ten picks that had needs at quarterback: Kansas City, Jacksonville, Oakland, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Arizona, Buffalo, and the New York Jets. All but one of those teams have made moves this off-season to secure veteran signal callers. That lone holdout is the Jaguars. Even low-level moves such as the Bills and Browns adding Kevin Kolb and Jason Campbell, respectively, suggests to me that teams have learned their lesson and are more reluctant to reach on a first round quarterback.

It’s simply not a good class, and I think the movement of veteran quarterbacks shows that the teams picking at the top of the first round are reluctant to make that investment in subpar players. There could be some passers drafted in the first round from teams moving into the latter part of Round One. The Jaguars hold the key. If they pass on a quarterback at Pick No. 2, they then are likely to pull the trigger on a quarterback with the opening pick of Round 2 at No. 33. Teams might try to jump ahead of them into the latter portion of Round One to get the guy they like. But we will see. This draft won’t be short on interesting storylines, even if it is on top-end talent.

Also you might want to check out the updated mock muncher.

1. Kansas City Chiefs – OT Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M
The reason why Joeckel has been penciled in here is because I haven’t heard enough to not pick him. It’s pretty safe to assume the Chiefs will use the top pick on the best tackle on their board. But whether that player is Joeckel remains to be seen. The reason why most put Joeckel over Eric Fisher is because of the higher level of competition. And the reason why Joeckel over Lane Johnson is because of experience and consistency. But one could argue that Fisher and/or Johnson have higher upside due to their athletic ceilings. Nothing in the pasts of Andy Reid or GM John Dorsey suggest that they have a strong small school bias to use that as a reason to put Joeckel over Fisher. But the consensus today is that Joeckel is slightly better than Fisher, and until there are a few more Mike Mayocks out there that are willing to shift their opinions, I’ll keep pegging Joeckel to be the top pick.

2. Jacksonville Jaguars – DE Dion Jordan, Oregon
What is interesting to me is that Jacksonville’s new GM is David Caldwell, a disciple of both Thomas Dimitroff and Bill Polian. Both Dimitroff and Polian hired defensive-minded coaches as their first choice at their respective jobs in Atlanta (Mike Smith) and Indianapolis (Jim Mora), but proceeded to draft quarterbacks with their first picks. Caldwell hired Gus Bradley from Seattle, who is a defensive maven who’d probably love to have Dion Jordan be the foundation of his rebuilding project for Jacksonville’s defense. But I’m also confident that Caldwell has little faith in Blaine Gabbert moving forward. I just wonder if his confidence is low enough, or perhaps his faith is high enough in one of these prospects to use the No. 2 pick overall on a quarterback. I don’t think so. I think unlike Dimitroff and Polian, Caldwell will settle for taking the best quarterback available with the top pick in the second round.

3. Oakland Raiders – DT Sharrif Floyd, Florida
The Raiders are just going to be looking for a good football player, and a lot of people really like Floyd. The signing of Tracy Porter probably precludes a move to get Dee Milliner at this pick, who fills a much higher need.
Read more…

The league announced some of the preseason dates for the upcoming 2013 season today. The Falcons four preseason opponents have been set. They will open their preseason schedule on Thursday, August 8 at home against the Cincinnati Bengals which will air on ESPN. For their second preseason game to be played between August 15 and 19, they will travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. In Week 3 of the preseason (August 22-26) they will face the Tennessee Titans on the road. They close the preseason on August 29 at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The more tentative dates for the second and third preseason games will be set at a later date.

The league is expected to unveil the regular season schedule on April 16.

Keeping track of all the free agent activity, interest, signings, and cuts for the Atlanta Falcons. You can view all the Falcons free agents by clicking here.

Coming

DE Osi Umenyiora, ex-Giants (Story) (signed 3/27, 2 yrs./$8.5 million)
RB Steven Jackson, ex-Rams (Story) (signed 3/14, 3 yrs./$12 million)

Going

OT Tyson Clabo (Story)
QB Luke McCown (signed 4/1 by Saints; 1 yr.)
CB Brent Grimes (Story) (signed 3/30 by Dolphins; 1 yr./$5.5 million)
CB Chris Owens (Story) (signed 3/22 by Browns; 1 yr.)
DT Vance Walker (Story) (signed 3/18 by Raiders; 1 yr.)
OT Will Svitek (Story) (signed 3/17 by Patriots)
OC Todd McClure (Story) (retirement)
DE Lawrence Sidbury (Story) (signed 3/12 by Colts, 1 yr.)
DE John Abraham
CB Dunta Robinson (signed 3/8 by Chiefs; 3 yrs./$13.8 million)
RB Michael Turner

Staying

OT Sam Baker (Story) (UFA, re-sign 3/12; 6 yrs./$41.1 million)
TE Tony Gonzalez (Story) (UFA, agreed to return 3/12; 2 yrs./$14 million)
OG Garrett Reynolds (Story) (UFA, re-signed 3/9; 2 yrs./$2.6 million)
S William Moore (Story) (UFA, re-signed 3/9; 5 yrs./$29.5 million)
RB Antone Smith (Story) (RFA, re-signed 3/5; 2 yrs./$1.425 million)

Rumored Interest

DE Elvis Dumervil, Broncos (Source: Denver Post) (signed 3/26 by Ravens, 5 yrs.)
DE Dwight Freeney, Colts (Source: Pro Football Talk)
RB Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers (Source: Albert Breer, NFL.com) (signed 3/13 by Cardinals; 1 yr.)
DT Richard Seymour, Raiders (Source: Jason La Canfora, CBS Sports)
QB Drew Stanton, Colts (Source: Jason La Canfora, CBS Sports) (signed 3/13 by Cardinals; 3 yrs.)

Tyson Clabo

Agent Chad Speck of Allegiant Athletic Agency tweeted this morning that the Falcons had informed him that they would be releasing his client, offensive tackle Tyson Clabo. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the move will be designated a post-June 1 release to clear more cap space.

Clabo had three years left on his contract, and was set to count $6.05 million against this year’s salary cap. He received a $4 million signing bonus as part of the five-year deal he signed back in the summer of 2011, as well as a $3 million option bonus that was paid last year. The remaining prorated part of his signing bonus counts $800,000 per season, while the option bonus was prorated over four years at $750,000 per season. Due to the post-June 1 designation, only one-year’s worth of bonus will be accelerated to this year’s cap as dead money, meaning the Falcons will only have to carry $1.55 million and save $4.5 million against the 2013 cap. The remainder of the accelerated unpaid bonus ($3.1 million) will count as dead money towards the 2014 cap next year.

With Clabo departing, 2012 third round pick Lamar Holmes and 2010 third round pick Mike Johnson become the most likely candidates to serve as his successor. Johnson took over for an injured Will Svitek last year as the team’s swing tackle and top reserve at the position. Holmes got limited reps after missing part of the off-season with a foot injury.

Clabo first entered the league in 2004 as an undrafted free agent with the Denver Broncos out of Wake Forest. He spent time on the practice squads of the Broncos, New York Giants, and San Diego Chargers as a rookie. When cut by the Broncos at the outset of the 2005 season, he was added to the Falcons practice squad before making the team outright in 2006. That year, he started 10 games predominantly at right guard as an injury replacement for Kynan Forney. The following season in 2007, he started 11 games at right tackle as an injury replacement for Todd Weiner. He would land the full-time starting right tackle gig in 2008 with the arrival of Mike Smith, as Weiner moved to fill in at left tackle. Since 2008, Clabo has not missed a game at the position in five seasons. Dating back to 2007, he has made 91 consecutive starts at the position. In 2010, his performance led to him being voted to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement.

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reports that the Falcons have signed linebacker Brian Banks to a contract.

Banks was a highly-touted linebacker coming out of Long Beach Poly High School in 2002, having been offered a scholarship to Southern California from former coach Pete Carroll. But he was wrongly accused and convicted of rape and kidnapping and spent 62 months in jail. Afterwards while on probation, he was forced to register as a sex offender, impacting his ability to get work. But in 2012, after the alleged victim recanted, he was exonerated and Banks was finally free.

He quickly proceeded to get workouts from NFL teams, including first with the Seattle Seahawks now coached by Carroll. He also received tryouts from the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs before finding a home with the Las Vegas Locos in the United Football League last September. In two games with the Locos, Banks recorded a tackle on special teams. The UFL folded this past October after four games played.

Banks, now 27, stands 6-1 and 240 pounds, and likely will compete for a practice squad position via a role on special teams.